31 Kisses
by Shaun Garin
Summary: Mahou Sensei Negima 1st Anime/Lyrical Toy Box. When you lose someone close to you, how far will you go to bring them back? Negi meets Nanoha, in a tale of loss and equivalent exchange.
1. Chapter 1

Loss. It was something Negi Springfield was intimately familiar with.

He couldn't stop crying that night, and didn't stop through the day. There was nothing to guide him from this sorrow. People tried desperately, but there was nothing they could say or do.

Asuna Kagurazaka was dead. Her soul snuffed out like the fires that burnt so brilliantly.

The funeral was full of sorrow, and her ashes spread to the wind.

Negi cried that night. And he cried as he packed his things, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't face his students, not now. Not after failing them. Not after letting her die with no way to undo it.

You couldn't return a human from the grave. Negi knew this, and he packed away one of Asuna's shirts into his things without thinking about it.

He never stopped crying as he moved to the train station.

He stifled sobs when he fled the city.

Negi Springfield was intimately familiar with death and loss.

That's why he left, to find the one thing that could bring a human back to life.

He just didn't know what it was yet.

* * *

It was a terrible day for rain.

The sun was out, and cast its amber glow across the landscape as Nanoha Takamachi stood at the foot of a grave. The headstone read "Alisa Banning". It was small, simple, but Nanoha left flowers there once every week. She cleaned the headstone, and made sure to offer a prayer to her.

Alisa had passed on a long time ago, but she knew that she was looking out for her in her own way.

It was here that she noticed that Alisa had a visitor, a young man, a boy who was 10 years of age, 3 younger than her own. He was curled up at the foot, the signs of tears flowing down his cheeks. Poor thing. He must have lost someone dear to him.

She looked around and picked him up with considerable effort, pack and all. She was a strong girl for her age, and he needed help.

It was a terrible day for rain. And both of them knew this.

* * *

31 Kisses

Written by Shaun Garin

Both series owned by their respective creators.

* * *

Negi opened his eyes to a pair of blue ones.

"You're awake," said the owner as he sat up, wiping his eyes. "Just lay down and rest. You have been asleep for a day now."

"…" was Negi's reply as he was pushed back down.

"Do you want something to drink?" inquired the girl as she held up a glass with a straw.

"… I'll be fine," said Negi, his voice like sandpaper.

She scowled and pulled his head up, jamming the straw between his lips before he could protest. "DRINK!" she snapped sternly and Negi did so reluctantly. "There. Not too much now…"

Negi sucked down most of the glass before he let go with a exhale. "Who are you?"

"Takamachi Nanoha," said Nanoha as she set the glass down to the side. "And you?"

"… Negi Springfield. Hi."

Nanoha smiled as she brushed a lock of hair away from his face. "Negi-kun, what were you doing in the graveyard?"

Negi's expression turned downward. "… I lost someone. Very… dear to me."

The memory of Asuna's lifeless body falling out of the World Tree at the stroke of midnight, the catch, her eyes blank and once full of life: Negi choked as he began to sob and Nanoha rubbed his back, making a shhh noise.

He clutched to her shirt and she rubbed his back. "It's okay, just cry."

* * *

"He suffered a loss," said Nanoha sadly, sharing a cup of tea between herself and her mother Momoko. "His friend, and student died three days ago."

"And now he believes he can bring her back," said Momoko. "I wish that were true."

Nanoha nodded. The house seemed so empty now that Kyouya and Miyuki were away for most of the year, leaving her mom and the girls there. Still…

"Father… he died trying to save Fiasse's father didn't he?" said Nanoha, earning a distant look from Momoko. "And now Negi is trying to bring someone back. But it can't be done."

"It can," said Negi from the stairs, his voice hoarse. "Magic can do it."

"Negi…" Nanoha wanted to say no magic could do it, but she held her tongue as she gripped Raising Heart within her hand. She herself was the proof magic existed.

"It's true," insisted Negi. "I can stop this, bring her back. I need to find the right magic, the right kind of price to do it. Bring her back, bring her back whole and hearty and without any demons curse! If I can use the light of the pact-breaker on it, I can do it! I know I can!"

Negi's voice was getting more frantic as he spoke. And that's when Momoko struck the table, shaking. "Nanoha-chan… bring Negi to his room."

"Alright. C'mon Negi."

When the children had gone, Momoko looked at the picture on the table. "Shiro… how would you feel if I tried this hard to return you to life…?"

* * *

"I'm sorry… Asuna-san… I'm sorry…"

Nanoha watched him sleep, unable to sleep herself. What kind of sorrow could have this boy had seen to have been driven to this point? Unable to believe someone was dead, so intimately familiar with loss, it was a terrible thing to see.

A soft light filled the room and winked into view as a small woman with wings appeared. "Nanoha, I felt a magical source enter your home today," said Lindy. She looked down at the boy and gasped. "I see…"

"Do you know him?" inquired Nanoha quietly.

"Not personally, only by reputation. The spirits of the dream world favor Negi Springfield's family line. But he's the strongest mage of the West. And to think, such a loss…" She turned an upset expression onto Nanoha. "He lost someone close to him, didn't he?"

"Yes, a girl they called Asuna," said Nanoha and Lindy's expression hardened. "What?"

"She made a pact with the demon king. All magic would avoid her for ten years. And then, her life was forfeit." Nanoha gasped. "It's the price you pay consorting with demons, even those who fight to destroy your home."

"How horrible…" said Nanoha.

The boy sniffled in his sleep and rolled over, causing Lindy to duck behind a clock. But when it seemed that the child would not awaken, Lindy reappeared from behind. "Nanoha, watch over him. If he seeks the way to bring back his fallen friend… then there's no telling what he'll do to be reunited."

* * *

"Here."

Negi looked at the broom, uncomprehending for a moment before he took it. "What's this for?"

"To sweep the front walk," said Nanoha. "Exercise will keep your mind healthy and you occupied. Okay?"

"But…"

"I SAID OUT!"

"AH!" Scrambling out the door, Nanoha added, "And don't come back in till every leaf and dust it in the gutter!"

"Scary…!" exclaimed Negi as she slammed the door on him.

He exhaled. Another sunny day and it was ruining his mood. So slowly, he began to sweep up the leaves and twigs on the ground.

From inside, Nanoha exhaled. She didn't like being hard on him, but there was nothing she could do. Lindy said she'd look into magic that could be potentially dangerous for him to cast to return someone to life, and the list was long and terrifying. From Necromancy to Dark Rituals that were also Necromancy, the list went on.

"What am I going to do with him?" sighed Nanoha as she cleaned a table, watching him sweep without any energy behind it.

Setting down her cloth after a while, she went outside and took a hold of the broom. "That's enough," she said, putting the broom to the side. "Walk with me Negi."

Negi followed her and the pair headed into town, specifically the nearby park. Sitting him down, she sat down next to him. "Negi, when you look into the sky, what do you see?"

"Nothing. Just clouds," replied Negi in a depressed voice.

"No really, what do you see?" insisted Nanoha.

"I see nothing okay? I see blue, that's it. BLUE." Snapped Negi. "There's nothing that I can do or say that'll bring her back! Everything I look at reminds me of her!"

"And why is that?" demanded Nanoha. "What is it that reminds you of her?"

"EVERYTHING! The trees remind me of the color green that is one of her eyes, the sky the blue of her other eye, the brown of her uniform, the red of her hair, EVERYTHING!" Negi was on his feet now shouting at Nanoha, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I can't live in this world knowing that she's gone and it's my fault for not even seeing it happen!"

SLAP.

Negi reeled and fell on his backside as Nanoha stood over him, her eyes shadowed from the locks of hair. "You think I don't know loss?" she said, her voice upset, wavering on anger. "I grew up without a father, but that's never stopped me. I fought a powerful mage from the dream world and stopped him from destroying the world. I haven't seen him in months since then. I befriended a girl who was kidnapped, abused and killed, but her spirit lived on until I sent her to rest."

She dropped to her knees and arms encircled Negi. He didn't fight it as she choked out, "I know loss. And you know it too."

Negi couldn't fight the tears now, and he cried in Nanoha's arms as she shed tears for the loss around them both.

* * *

Negi took a spoonful of curry and ate it.

"It's good," said Negi softly as he continued to eat. The television was blaring in the background and he was half paying attention to it.

And then, something he heard made him startle.

_We'll bring her back. Well bring her back Al. There's something called a homunculus…_

The spoon fell from Negi's fingers. "That's it…" he said. "That's it. Right there…"

He ran out of the room, never bothering to see the horrific results of the attempt, brushing past Nanoha who was nearly bowled over. "Negi-kun?"

Upstairs, Negi was rooting around for the item in question and he grinned. Here… there it is. He held up the charred bell in his hand, and begun to laugh, softly at first. "This is it," said Negi. "Magic can solve it. Alchemy. The magical alchemy, a homunculus. All I need to do is transmute a soul into it. But it's not possible, not possible without a source of magic… Wait… the sacred points… yes, if I can use that…"

Grabbing his staff, he leaped out the window as Nanoha barreled up into the room. "NEGI!"

"Nanoha!" exclaimed Lindy, coming out of hiding. "You've got to stop him!"

"What's he going to do?" demanded Nanoha, watching him fly off.

"He'll use a sacred point to fuel a transmutation, he's going to try and bring his friend back to life, you've got to STOP HIM!"

Nanoha's throat leaped into her chest. No…

"Raising Heart Set Up!"

And in an instant, a girl with wings on her shoes flew out of the window after the rapidly vanishing boy in the distance.

* * *

It was night by the time Negi landed in Mahora. He had made a detour to the grocery store. He knew what he needed to do.

Using his magic to sear a circle, he dumped the contents into it. "Good, that's enough."

As if responding to the magical intent, the World Tree began to glow as Negi threw in the bell into the soggy mix. "All the pieces are in place. Good."

"What the hell are you doing boya?" demanded a voice behind him and Negi didn't turn. "I said…" And Evangeline whipped him around with a strong grip to his shoulder. "What are you doing, boya?"

"Evangeline…"

Evangeline noticed the soup on the ground and her expression narrowed. "I know this set up. Boya, you're playing a dangerous game here."

"I don't care, it can be done right? RIGHT?"

"It's what I told you before: THE DEAD ARE NEVER COMING BACK!" And Evangeline threw him into the soggy mess. "Get it through your skull boya, she is NOT COMING BACK!"

"I can do it! I can make her come back! Just watch, all it needs is just the right spell, the right combination of forces…!"

"Lic lac lic lac lilac!"

Negi dodged away from the torrent of ice magic as he yelled, "NO!" as the materials were frozen. "EVANGELINE!"

"If I can't make you listen, then I'll do it by FORCE!" Yelled Evangeline as she raised her hand again.

"But how are you…?" demanded Negi.

Evangeline looked up and Negi swore. It was a full moon, a big bloody red moon. FUCK.

He dodged the next volley and countered with a blast of his own.

* * *

When Nanoha arrived, the landscape was already scarred by Negi and Evangeline's battle. "Negi!" yelled Nanoha as the vampire hurled another blast of magic at him.

"No good," said Lindy as she floated up near her. "This close to the World Tree, and that vampire he's fighting has this much power despite her seal?"

"You know of her?"

"Yes. But now's not the time. Quickly now, put Negi down before he hurts himself!"

Gathering her courage, Nanoha leaped into action as she threw her wand forward. "Lyrical Magical: SHOOT!"

And a beam of golden light hurled from her wand and Negi looked up at her, his expression wild and unfocused. "Negi!" yelled Nanoha from above.

"Nanoha-san… so you stand against me too?" He raised his hand and incanted another spell, hurling it at everyone.

"No, I've come to help you!" exclaimed Nanoha as she dodged a volley of magic arrows. "Please stop Negi, if you use a sacred area it'll destabilize the world magic! You can't use it to bring people back to life!"

"I DON'T CARE!" screamed Negi, firing a Jupiter Storm at her and she countered with a beam of light from her wand. "All my efforts, I can't protect a single person?"

"Listen to the whelp boya, she speaks the truth!" Evangeline hurled another blast of darkness at him which he dodged. "If you open a Gate here it'll engulf the entire city in devastation. Not even I will survive."

"To bring back Asuna-san…" Negi seemed to consider it and then broke out into the run towards the materials.

"Stop him whelp!" yelled Evangeline and Nanoha raised her wand.

_To save Asuna… and bring back the smiles and joy… I'll open a portal to hell itself!_

"BINDING!"

Negi fell over like a puppet with his strings cut as Chachamaru landed and picked him up, delivering a sharp blow to the back of his head, knocking him out. "He has been neutralized my master."

"Bring him with us." Chachamaru nodded, and stalked away as Evangeline looked at the icy mess in the circle. She snapped her fingers and it burst into flames until there was nothing left, simply a round circle of charred earth. "Those who die… should stay dead."

Giving a glance to Lindy and Nanoha, Evangeline leaped away.

"What now?" asked Nanoha.

"We follow."


	2. Chapter 2

"Reckless endangerment of the populace…"

"Human transmutation…"

"Disregard of safety…"

The list of charges floated over Negi has he sat there in the dark room, his eyes dark and dead. All hope had drained out of him when his attempt to bring Asuna back to life had failed. He kept turning the charred bell over in his hands, the motion making smooth polished motions in the charcoaled material.

Gandolfini sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "Stay here. We'll deal with the rest of the hearing later."

Negi nodded as the other mage teachers filed out of the room, leaving Nanoha standing there, her hands clasped in front of her chest.

Walking up to him, she touched his shoulder. He didn't respond until her arms encircled his neck. "Negi-kun."

"You stood against me," said Negi in a hurt tone. "You didn't let me bring her back…"

"Aren't you listening to the mage teachers?" said Nanoha. "You can't bring back the dead."

"I know I can…" said Negi, but there was no fire in his voice, just pain.

"Negi…" And the young girl held him as tears refused to fall for the young man.

* * *

31 Kisses

Written by Shaun Garin

All characters owned by their respective creators.

* * *

"Where's Negi-sensei?" asked Konoka as Takamichi walked into their period English class.

Takamichi sighed and he adjusted his glasses. He looked old, older than he was expected to be with his shock of grey-blonde hair. "Negi-kun… has been relieved. He's headed back to Wales in two days."

Instead of an explosive inquiry, 3-A burst into a rumbling of discontent, ranging from shocked to horrified expressions. Yue especially as she shared a look with Nodoka. Negi-sensei… gone?

"If you'll turn to page 32 in your books…"

* * *

"I don't like this," said Setsuna softly. "Not after… everything."

"I spoke to grandfather," said Konoka, clutching her teacup as Yue and Nodoka sat next to them, also holding drinks. "He said… Negi-kun's being punished."

"For running away? But… that's too cruel…" said Nodoka. "After Asuna-san…"

Yue swallowed a hard lump in her throat. "I won't accept this," said the violet haired girl softly. "I can't! Not after I told him I liked him, not after Asuna…" She choked off a sob and Nodoka wrapped an arm around Yue.

"Um…" the girls looked up as Satomi and Chao stood there. "We hate to interrupt but there is something we might be able to do." And Chao held up a watch.

"It's called Cassiopeia," said Chao. "It's a time machine."

* * *

Nanoha looked up at the old-looking Takamichi walking down the halls of the mage detention area and stood up. "Takahata-sensei?"

"Please, Nanoha-kun, it's Takamichi. I don't deserve that title right now." Said Takamichi and the young girl nodded. "You helped Negi-kun when he was in his time of distress. Please sit. I want to talk."

Nanoha did so as he folded his hands in front of him in his lap as he leaned forward a little. "Your impression of Negi-kun… what was it?"

"… loss," said Nanoha. "Powerful overwhelming loss. He projects sadness like it's a second skin, and it makes people want to hug him and tell him it's alright. But he's also strong, but with so much loss and burdens weighing him down, it's hard to say if he'll ever recover."

"As expected of Nagi's son," said Takamichi as he lit up a cigarette and blew a gust of smoke to the side. Nanoha wrinkled her nose but otherwise didn't comment. "Sorry… bad habit of mine. Picked it up from my old master, Gateau."

"It's fine," said Nanoha. "I half expect myself to smoke when I'm older. I've had a stressful life too."

"You're Shiro's daughter aren't you?" said Takamichi, drawing a startled expression from Nanoha. He smiled a little. "I can see him in your face and eyes. Kindness, a giving heart wrapped around an unforgiving core of steel if someone does your loved ones wrong. Even now you protect Negi-kun, haven't left his side since his arrest."

"You knew my father?"

"Yes… it was… maybe fifteen years ago. I was young and going to school here when I met him when he was bringing a dignitary around the campus as a bodyguard. My old master introduced me to him and we hit it off. He was older than I am, but we had some times." Takamichi took another drag. "He always hated Gateau's cigarettes."

"I never expected his daughter would be magical though," said Takamichi. "But it was probably to be expected. We did a lot of rescue in war-torn areas together for a couple years before it happened."

Nanoha nodded, smiling just a little at the praise Takamichi had for her father. Momoko rarely spoke of her father, but Nanoha always wanted to know about him. "I didn't discover I was magical till three years ago."

"The Dream Vent," said Takamichi and she nodded. He grinned. "Well, thank you for that. It was quite the tough thing to cover up magically."

Nanoha blushed just a little.

At that moment, the wall rolled up as Gandolfini lead Negi out, his eyes a little less dead. The pair stood and Negi threw himself into Nanoha's arms, sobbing.

"He's grown attached to her," said Gandolfini. "More quickly than he ever got attached to Asuna."

"They look similar, but that's only superficial. She's got the same heart. What's the verdict?"

"They'll let Negi-kun say goodbye before we put him on the plane back. The magic community… isn't happy with his decision." Said Gandolfini. Takamichi sighed. "The son of the Thousand Master… reduced to this."

"Grief turns people into horrible parodies of themselves, Gandolfini-kun. You and I know that better than anyone else." Said Takamichi as he stubbed out his cigarette. "Nanoha-kun, come. Bring Negi-kun with you too."

"Right."

* * *

"There he is!" exclaimed Misora as the girls all dogpiled on Negi, the young boy falling over from half the class pouncing on him.

"Negi-kun you're leaving us?" demanded Fumika.

"Negi-kun can't leave us!" added Fuka.

Negi struggled under the press of girls as Konoka, Setsuna, Yue and Nodoka walked up to Nanoha. "Who're you?" asked Konoka.

"Takamichi Nanoha. I'm his friend." Said Nanoha simply. "I found him when he ran away, and brought him back."

"He seems… attached to you," said Setsuna.

"We've got a lot in common," said Nanoha and Yue looked at her over her juice box.

"You mean… as a mage," said Yue.

"Yeah." Said Nanoha. "I'm not the reason he's leaving. He did, almost did something that was terrible and dangerous."

"But… we need to get him this," said Konoka as she held up the device in her hands. "Chao-san gave it to us. It's a time machine. With it, we can go back in time and stop Asuna from dying!"

The words were like a knife through Negi's heart as he looked up. Pushing the girls off him, he walked over and said, "Really? You're… not lying to me, are you?"

"No Negi-kun, we'd never lie to you," said Konoka as she pressed the watch into his hands. "But it takes an enormous amount of magic to use."

"What are you all talking about? Time machine? Magic? And who is this girl?" demanded Ayaka.

"A time machine… I can go back… give up the power needed…" Negi took it and he clutched the watch protectively.

Magic began to pool at his feet and rose into his hands, throwing off light as wind howled. "What's going on?" exclaimed one of the girls as light exploded upwards.

Negi felt the magic tearing at his form as he held on. But then, hands came down against his as warm pink light suffused through his body. "Nanoha?"

"Negi…" said Nanoha. "There's no going back if you take this route," said Nanoha in the howl of magical power. "We will never have met."

Negi gasped as the magic died down, leaving a flustered group of girls. "But…! You and I… we…!"

"We just met, I know," said Nanoha as she took the watch from him. "Which is why I want you to use my power to do it. A life for a life."

"NO!" yelled Negi. "I don't want to see anyone die!"

"Don't you see Negi? I'm just here, as a dream for you." Nanoha blinked back unshed tears. "Please, use my power. A life for a life. In exchange for never meeting me, you will have her back."

"Negi-sensei…" swallowed Nodoka, watching the by-play. Many girls were already sniffling.

Negi's hands wrapped around hers. "Is that what you want, Nanoha-san?"

Nanoha smiled at him as she leaned in and kissed him. Light exploded as a light filled the landscape. And as Negi fell through time, he reached out and plucked a card from the air.

_I will always be with you… just remember the memory of loss, and the power of life._

_

* * *

_

"So… time reset to it's original motion," said Evangeline, standing at the wall. "Well Kagurazaka Asuna… what will you do?"

"Everyone…" Asuna's throat tightened and she cried out, "Please, help me!"

* * *

"Why so glum Aniki?" asked Chamo as Negi stood on the roof of the girls dorm. "Anesan is back, nothing bad happened!"

"I just… I just get the feeling I missed something," said Negi. "Something… no, someone important."

"There you are!" exclaimed Asuna from behind him as she hauled Negi to his feet. "Negi! Who's this girl?" And she waved a card in front of him.

"Huh? Who is this?" asked Negi, looking at the girl on the front. "I don't recognize her."

"Me neither…" said Chamo.

"Geez, I don't believe you! You're like making pactios without telling me? COUCH! TONIGHT!"

"What? That's no fair!"

Chamo caught the fallen card as the pair argued. "Takamachi Nanoha… huh… I don't know that name…" He looked out at the dawn that was breaking and smiled. "But whoever you are Anesan, I wish you luck."

* * *

"Achoo!"

"Bless you Nanoha-chan," said Momoko. "Dusty?"

"No," said Nanoha, sniffing. "But I think someone's talking about me."

"Maybe it's your imagination," said Miyuki as she got up and took a hold of the wheelchair handles. "C'mon sis, let's go get ice cream."

"I'll get my wallet," said Kyouya as he followed.

Momoko smiled a sad smile. It was bad enough that Nanoha had gotten into an accident that nearly crippled her but the letter on the table offered her a spot in the prestigious Mahora Academy.

"Shiro… looks like you still have friends who remember you," said Momoko as a picture displaying a young grey-haired boy and a young man with brown hair was on the table next to it.

* * *

End 31 Kisses


End file.
